Category Archives: Motivation

Triple Crown Recap ( If I can you do it you can too!)

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Last Sunday I completed the third in the Triple Crown series of races, the America’s Finest City Half Marathon in San Diego. I have to say I am mighty proud of myself- not because my time was great (it was not very good), or even because I felt like I had a good race ( it was hot as hell and also a pain just to get to the starting line), but because less than a year ago I was a very inconsistent exerciser that had never run farther than about 3 miles at a time. I had tinkered with the idea of running a Half Marathon ever since Christina signed up for her first race at that distance, but just the thought of running 13 miles straight made me feel very intimidated. For a long time I came up with every excuse in the world not to do it: ” I don’t have that kind of time”, ” I’m not a runner”, ” I can’t run that far”, “It’s too hard”…any of that sound familiar?

Eventually, something made me just suck it up and do it. I realized that I was the only thing holding me back, and I was tired of standing on the sidelines. So I registered for the Carlsbad Half Marathon, and when I learned that if I also ran the La Jolla Half Marathon and America’s Finest City Half Marathon in the same year, I would get a special Triple Crown medal and some legitimate bragging rights, I decided to sign up for those races too.

Most of my training for the first race was done on a treadmill at the Y- I didn’t follow a specific training plan, but on any given day I was running anywhere between 8-10 miles at a time. It’s not the most exciting way to spend an hour or two, but as a mom with a one year old it was the best I could do. By the time race day arrived I was nervous, but ready. I set a time goal for myself, and even though I fell a little short ( just by 13 seconds), I felt extremely accomplished. The Carlsbad Half Marathon made me feel like a real runner, and I was ready for more.

The La Jolla Half Marathon is notorious for a brutal hill at mile 5 that goes straight up for over a mile- not to mention several other hills along the way. Since my youngest had started preschool by this time, I was able to get in several trail runs a week, and also did a lot of hill training on the treadmill. I went into this race with only one goal in mind: “KILL THE HILL”- I knew that there would be alot of people who would choose to walk, and I wanted to resist the urge to join them. In the end my hill training paid off- I was able to keep a steady pace the whole time, and ended up beating my Carlsbad time by a little over a minute, on a course that is significantly more difficult.

The America’s Finest City Half Marathon should have been a breeze for me- it’s a relatively easy course ( lots of downhill in the first half), and since I had been running all year I should have been in tip-top shape….but as we all know life sometimes gets in the way. It was hard for me to stay motivated this summer- between illnesses, vacations, and the heat, I just wasn’t able to put in the training that I had for the previous races. I decided that I was not going to beat myself up ( even though I still did a little bit), and made it my goal just to finish the race and get my Triple Crown status. In the end I surprised myself by completing the race in less time than the previous two, despite my lack of training and the unusual  80 degree heat with 84% humidity that hit San Diego that morning.

So, why did I bother to tell you all of this? Because I want you to know that I am nothing special- I am just a regular person, a mom and wife, that decided I wanted to do something great. In between all of the training runs and races I still had to deal with comforting sick kids, grocery shopping, paying bills and doing laundry. During the time I was training I bought a house, celebrated holidays and mourned the loss of a loved one. There were ups and downs, times when I felt like I was able to run forever and other times when I felt like I could barely walk a mile. Some days I was excited to hit the trails and run as fast as I could, other days I had to play mental games with myself just to get my running shoes on. In the end, my need to prove to myself that I could do it won out. If you have the desire, you can do it- no matter what life throws your way. If you have ever entertained the thought of crossing a finish line, whether it be a 5k or a marathon, I encourage you to do it.  You don’t have to be the fastest, the youngest, the fittest or the thinnest- it’s about you and no one else:  all you have to do is put in the work and show up at the start. It’s just one foot in front of the other, after all.

Reclaiming My Power

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Until I was 30 years old, my body had never failed me in any significant way.  I never had any major illnesses or injuries. I never had to battle my weight. I had never broken a bone. I was one of the lucky few that could call themselves healthy without even trying. It wasn’t until I was 32 weeks pregnant with my first child, lying in a hospital bed in pre-term labor that I knew what it felt like to be helpless and completely out of control.

Pregnancy was a beautiful time in my life.  I had never felt better- no morning sickness, minimal aches and pains, and an overall sense of peace and fulfillment. I passed every prenatal test with flying colors- no abnormalities, no high blood pressure, no gestational diabetes, nothing at all to indicate that I was at risk for preterm labor.  I had every reason to believe that I would have the birth that I so strongly desired: from the moment I found out that I was pregnant I began researching and planning and decided that I wanted a completely natural birth. I saw a midwife rather than a doctor,  hired a doula, sought out a hospital that had a birthing tub and took natural birthing classes. Although I had all of the normal apprehensions about labor, I looked at it as a challenge to myself to fully experience everything my body was capable of.

All of my plans went out the window, as they so often do, when I awoke one morning, having contractions much too early. I labored naturally for quite some time, but I was not ready and really scared- and eventually succumbed to interventions. My baby was born healthy, and for that I am obviously grateful- but I still mourned the loss of the experience that I felt I missed out on.

Two years later, pregnant again with my second child- I felt I had another chance to give birth the way I so desperately wanted. Again my body failed me. I was diagnosed with placenta previa halfway into my pregnancy and in the end had  the extreme opposite of everything I had hoped for, a C-Section. My baby was perfect in every way, but I was left with an emptiness knowing that I would never have another chance to “get it right”. Intellectually I understood that all that mattered was a healthy child, but the experience of a natural birth was something I had so wanted so badly that when it didn’t happen, twice, I felt like a complete failure.

The extreme disappointment I felt after those two experiences left me wanting to regain control of my body. I had stood on the sidelines at many of my husband’s races, and always thought how great it would feel if I participate, but for some reason never thought I could. Those feelings started to change when, by default, I started to run. I joined a new gym when we moved to  California, and the class offerings were very limited- as a result of that, I started running on the treadmill. (I’d run a little off and on in prior years, but never much more than 3 miles at a time) Each week, seeing my mileage go up and my pace go down, I started to realize that I was capable of doing much more than I had ever thought possible. My focus started to switch from the failures my body had endured, to the successes it was having and what else it could accomplish.

I decided to run my first half marathon last January. In the months leading up to the race, I had a ton of self- doubt. I was about to do something that I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would do- no matter how you slice it, running is hard. It takes dedication, motivation, and pushes you to the limit both physically and mentally.  I wasn’t even convinced that I could finish a 13.1 mile run, much less do it even remotely fast.

I finished that race it 2 hours and 10 minutes- not super fast, but not too bad for a mother of two small children that had only been running for a year. I never told them, but when I saw my family at the finish line I wanted to cry- not in pain, but because I was so proud of what I had done. Whether they knew it or not, I felt like I had done it for them too- I proved to myself and to my family that I was able to finish something that I had been determined to do. The satisfaction I felt that day helped to fill some of the hole that was still there from missing out on the births I had wanted. I’ve often heard people compare giving birth to running a marathon, and though I haven’t run a full one yet, I feel like I have at least gotten a taste of what I missed out on. I have pushed myself to the limit and been given the ultimate reward of regaining confidence in myself. I know now that my body is not weak, and I am not a failure- I am powerful in a way that I never knew I was.

Me and my girls after the Carlsbad Half Marathon, January 2012

Speed Bumps: Finding Motivation

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Top by For Two Fitness – http://fortwofitness.com/

As I have written previously, I am expecting with my 3rd child.  While I am happy to be pregnant and excited at the thought of a sweet newborn to cuddle (and photograph), I miss my relationship with running. One of the first signs that I was pregnant, was how I felt on a run.  My body was tiring quickly and I was working harder at things that once came easily.  The entire first trimester I was exhausted, and although I was able to go on long runs, running a 10K on St. Patrick’s Day, my pace began to suffer.  Needless to say it was frustrating.  I was excited to get my energy back at the beginning of my second trimester and I have been able to continue to run and take classes at the Y, but I am not able to do any speed training or really push myself in classes. It was kind of nice at first, not following a schedule and just running however far I felt like running, but now I miss my long runs.  There was a time that I would have considered 6 miles or less a short run and if I were to  run 3-5 miles it was only for fartlek training. Now, at 24 weeks pregnant, a long run is 5-6 miles and these runs have become few and far between. Watching my body become unable to perform at my pre-pregnancy fitness level has been hard.  Finding a balance between feeling like I am doing enough, while cutting myself some slack because I am pregnant has been extremely difficult.

Now that it is the summertime and school is out, another speed bump I have encountered is my own kids. Trying to coordinate their summer activities with working out has been a challenge. Then there is the weather. I live in Southern Texas and it is now 100 plus degrees outside. The lows are in the 80′s! Yes, that means if I were to get up early and run before the sun comes up, it would still be 80 degrees and humid outside. In the first month of the summer I have endured a 3 day long migraine because I did not stay properly hydrated after a run. The following week I came down with a bad cold and was miserable. Being pregnant, all I could take for the cold was Tylenol. After about a week, I started to feel better physically, but I had more obstacles in my path.   The summer months are vacation time for many and we had a plethora of family members in town from all over the country & world.   My father-in-law’s 90th birthday party was a big weekend celebration, followed by my daughter’s 4th birthday, which included 2 parties and was a week long.  While I did get in a few classes and several runs in June, I am way behind my normal amount of activity. And what goes hand in hand with family visiting and lots of parties? Food! That’s right, lot of delicious food that didn’t fall anywhere within the confines of the clean eating I have recently adopted.

I hope I am not coming off as whiny. I am enjoying the time I get to spend with my kids during the summer months, and I consider all the time spent with family to be priceless. I just wanted to share the kinds of things I have been dealing with that I consider to be speed bumps.  We all have obstacles in our lives that can get us off track with our nutrition, runs, workouts, etc. So, how do I get past these things? It’s simple.  It’s because it is IMPORTANT to me to stay fit and healthy. I make the time to go.  When I fall off track, I pick myself up and start the week again new. This week I am back to my routine and already feeling better.  Maybe your speed bump is a full time job that has you exhausted at the end of the day. Maybe you have a new baby who keeps you up at night. Maybe you also have the weather working against you. Maybe you are pregnant like me. Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep, maybe your legs hurt, maybe you’ll just go tomorrow… Stop making excuses and start making the choice to live a better life. Make the choice to be a good example of fitness and health to your children. It’s up to you. It’s your choice.

Here are some ways that I find help me stay motivated.

  • Have friends who are also into fitness & running and support each other. My friends motivate me daily. I love seeing their runs or workouts posted on Facebook and I always like or comment on their posts to motivate them. In return, they do the same for me.
  • I love Pinterest! Sometimes when I need a little motivation, I will check out my own Run Board to get pumped up.
  • Workout clothes – having a cute outfit (especially one from Lululemon) always helps motivate me. :)
  • Sign up for a race. Not only are they a fun activity, there are so many different kinds and causes, you are bound to find one  you’ll love.  I am currently registered to run the Armaco Houston Half Marathon on January 13, 2012. I plan on running the Color Me Rad run in March 2013.
  • Another Mother Runner books, blog, podcasts, etc. Sarah & Dimity are such an inspiration. You should check them out if you are a mother runner.

why I run

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On occasion, someone will ask me why I run. Until recently I never knew how to answer that question- sure, there are the obvious reasons like staying in shape, having “me” time and  bettering my health overall- but I could do that with any other form of exercise.  I have really had to dig deep into my psyche to figure out why I, a person that could barely run a mile a few years ago, has chosen to run three half marathons this year. I mean, a person can run for exercise, but they don’t have to run 10+ miles at a time to do it- just a few miles several times a week would do the trick. So, I have thought long and hard about this and I’ve come to realize that running fills a void for me that was left after I became a mom.

In my previous life, I was a retail manager. By no means a glamorous or high paying job, I still loved it. I thrived in an environment that relied so strictly on meeting goals. Each week, every day, even every hour was dependent on reaching a number: store sales, department sales, average sale per customer and payroll dollars had to be figured and re-figured throughout the day. New strategies were devised several times during a shift depending on the previous hours results. Regardless of how much cleaning there was to do, or how much stocking needed to be done the goals still had to be met. I worked 50+ hour weeks, rarely had two days off in a row and had a boss that made me feel nauseous every time she walked through the door, but still I thrived on it and stayed for over 7 years.

I had not planned on quitting my job. Never considering myself the “stay at home mom” type, I thought I would take the standard 6 weeks off and then find a nice woman to leave my baby with during the day. Plans changed,  however, when I first held my tiny baby girl (born two months premature, but otherwise perfectly healthy)  in my arms. Nothing else mattered and I didn’t feel the need to prove myself in any other way, other than to be Sophie’s mommy.

I have since had another child, and although I am very content to stay home and be the cook, maid and chauffeur (not to mention companion, guide and comfort to my children), there is not exactly a lot of recognition associated with it. My husband is not the kind that thinks what I do is easy, but he also isn’t here all day to give me praise after I finish 5 loads of laundry, do the grocery shopping and pick up after the girls’ latest dress-up extravaganza. I believe that running is what has helped me hold onto the good parts of my former self while I go through the mundane, thankless ( and often joyous) motions of motherhood.

When I started running I had no agenda- with no particular goal in mind, I just got on a treadmill and hit “go”. It was very difficult for me at first- I huffed and puffed through two miles as if I’d gone twelve. Something made me keep doing it, when at any given time I could have gotten off and hopped on an elliptical machine instead, or stepped into a zumba or yoga class- it was the extreme sense of satisfaction I got when I was done. Seeing what I had accomplished laid out for me in terms of distance, average pace and time proved that I had done something really, really hard and made it to the end.

Running has taken the place of the performance reviews that I so dreaded in my working past- except now I am my own boss and I hold myself accountable for reaching the goals that I have set for myself. I no longer need to have someone telling me that I have done a good job- I can look back and see how much I have improved in distance and speed since I began. There is no doubt in my mind that I have done well when I can add a 13 mile run to the list of things I have done in a day. Recently I started following a training plan to help me run a sub- 2 hour half marathon in August, and there is a great satisfaction in being able to check off the days as if they were a to-do list. The more days I check, the more accomplished I feel and the closer I know I am to my goal.

Perhaps running doesn’t fit your personality quite as well as it does mine. You might prefer cycling which is also a very measurable activity, or maybe you are not at all concerned with numbers and would look forward to a relaxing yoga class. Maybe you are really outgoing and would love to go crazy in Zumba. Or maybe you just need to let out some stress by hitting the weight room several times a week. Whoever you are, there is an activity that will make you feel great about yourself when you do it- get out there and experiment- find out what will get you out of bed instead of hitting the alarm clock one more time. What will motivate you to get moving? What would you look forward to doing? Excercise doesn’t have to be a chore- it can be a very fulfilling addition to your schedule if you find something you really love. Like me, you might even rediscover a part of yourself that you have been missing.